Tag Archives: innovative

You’re Not Making These Silly Print Marketing Mistakes…Are You?

Are you a marketer who regularly uses direct mail?

Here at Structural Graphics, we’re big proponents of print marketing and have applauded its ability to generate feedback, loyalty and, ultimately, sales. However, if you’re not using it properly, these pieces – and leads – can end up in the garbage.

To help you better succeed with your direct mail campaigns, we’ve compiled this list of common blunders that can hinder your prospects.

  1. An unclear message: Does your headline match your CTA? Do your graphics tie into your angle or story line? Is your copy clear, concise and appropriate for your audience?  
  2. Wrong audience: Do your research beforehand. Consider not only the age, location and interests of your target demographic, but also the appropriate time of year to contact them. For instance, tax season may not be the appropriate time to contact small business owners, and members of a senior housing community likely won’t respond to real estate marketing. 
  3. Being too self-indulgent: There’s a delicate balance between asserting your strengths and overindulging in them. Recipients don’t want front row tickets to the “Me Show”; they care about “What’s in it for me?” Great marketing always focuses on the recipients, not the business or agent reaching out. Highlight your brand’s value by showing how your product or service can help change people’s lives, making them easier or more fulfilling.
  4. No contact info: Print or digital, your marketing should always have the first and last name of someone for the recipient to contact. This simple touch point creates a connection between the consumer and your business, and saves them the hassle of having to go looking for someone to reach out to.

3 Ways to Engage Customers in Your Brand’s Marketing Strategy

If you’re doing a good job supporting your clients, they’ll become your best (perhaps presently untapped) marketing resource for your business. Research shows that prospects are more likely to take action on or interact with your brand when they hear about someone else’s experience with your products or services than if they were to only hear a sales pitch from you or one of your sales agents.

Clearly, things like testimonials and case studies can go a long way when it comes to marketing your business. However, how can one harness all the great stories, experiences and, overall, customer feedback? Here are a few ideas.

Narrow Your Social Listening

We all love seeing the photos customers post of our products on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. So, why not use those to your advantage? By creating a unique hashtag or searching for a specific location or product name, your social listening will be much more targeted and allow you to cultivate added content to use across your own channels. Not only does this translate to better brand loyalty, but it also encourages other customers to post their own images, casting a wider marketing net for you.

Experiment with CrowdSourcing

Looking to implement a new tagline, logo or packaging? Ask your customers what they think first. A great way to make customers and clients feel valued is to engage them in your marketing efforts, involving them in decisions they can be proud of. Maybe it’s as simple as a survey that’s sent in the mail; maybe it’s a single tweet. With Instagram’s new question feature and platforms that allow you to answer questions and get feedback in real-time, there’s never been an easier time to help your audience feel a sense of ownership to your brand (plus you’ll get great insights).

Turn Customers into Advocates.

Here’s the thing: customers and clients are already talking about you, whether you like it or not. Research suggests that we still give substantial weight to the recommendations of our friends and peers, so, why not give those with positive experiences an opportunity to share them? To get started, why not invite them to do “takeovers” of your social media accounts, present at an event, or review products on their own YouTube channels. Word-of-mouth marketing will validate your brand’s credibility and turn your most loyal fans into advocates of your business.

Structural Graphics & Sister Company, The Lift Factor, Take Home Top GDUSA Awards

Who designed the most innovative packaging of 2018? Graphic Design USA, the leading B2B resource for graphic design professionals, answered that question this month with the announcement of the winners of the 2019 GDUSA American Package Design Awards.

More than 1,000 marketers, designers and printers were challenged as never before to promote their brand in a way that would forge an emotional link with their customers. Out of those entrants, Structural Graphics took home two accolades: winner in the Luxury Packaging Category for Creata Kellogg’s Jurassic World Promotional Video Box and winner in the Food and Beverage Category for the GSD&M Popeyes Emotional Support Chicken Box.

Structural Graphics’ insurance marketing sister company, The Lift Factor, is also a winner in the Luxury Packaging Category for the Brighthouse Planter Mailer.

How Does Print Marketing Affect the Brain?

Did you know that our brains process physical and digital media very differently?

According to this study commissioned by the USPS in 2015, physical content seems to leave a longer lasting impression than digital ones. While the average consumer processes digital ad content faster, we spend more time with physical ads, remembering them longer and showing stronger emotional responses to them.

“Physical ads, though slower to get one’s attention at first exposure, leave a longer lasting impact for easy recall when making a purchase decision. Most importantly, physical ads triggered activity in the area of the brain (ventral striatum) that is responsible for value and desirability for featured products, which can signal a greater intent to purchase.”

Then there’s the notion of tactile content for the development of psychological ownership, a state of mind that leads people to value objects they physically handle more highly than those they haven’t touched. Physically holding and manipulating a piece of print content has some of the same positive psychological effects as experiential and in-person marketing initiatives.

For marketers, these findings have practical implications.

“From a marketer’s perspective, it’s essential to always view your position to the customer as extending beyond immediate transactional value and establish a complex set of relationship-based connections that will drive future growth.” – Nicola Brown, Skyword.com

This information can help companies of all sizes and across all industries optimize their advertising dollars, especially small businesses which are often faced with limited marketing budgets. For those consumers who are short on time, the digital format captures attention longer. However, if the goal is to have a longer lasting impact and easy recollection, print is the way to go. It also seems to increase our sense of trust and level of understanding and enjoyment.

Independent research company Toluna found that US consumers of all ages believe print content is more trustworthy than digital, with 59% of survey responders not trusting advertisements they view online. 71% of people surveyed stated they “don’t pay attention to advertisements online”, while 63% read the direct mail sent to their homes at least once a week. Direct mail is certainly seeing a resurgence in Marketing, and consumers have shown that it is here to stay.

Can Seasons Affect Your Business’ Direct Mail Responses? We Think So.

Here in New England, we eat, sleep and do business based on the seasons. But many marketers, specifically those who utilize direct mail, tend to focus so much on the whats and whos of their strategy, and lose sight of when to actually send their pieces.

Do you know what time of year is best for your company to send mailings? If you’re in an industry like retail or travel, then maybe. However, if you’re operating in a space like manufacturing, commodity or design, you might not. What’s more, do you know those weeks or months – when your response rates plummet – to avoid?

Here’s an example: Financial planners get the worst response rates during November and December, when many people are spending time with their loved ones to celebrate the holidays. Other days, like Memorial Day, Labor Day and Independence Day are also notoriously low for response rates. January, though, is just the opposite. While individuals are evaluating their finances and planning for the year ahead, the first quarter of the year is generally best for CFPs to remind clients that they’re a valuable resource.

Similarly, the holidays may be a perfect time for retailers to target consumers looking to purchase food, clothing or toys for their families, friends and mailpersons. By mailing at just the right times, we’re able to make the best use out of our direct mail pieces and provide the most valuable to those receiving them.

Experiment with small mailings and compare your business’ response rates over time. In weeks or months, you’ll be able to identify the appropriate cadence for your mailings and be efficient with your advertising budget at the same time!